Chasing Death
by Checkmate-13
Summary: Detective Inspector Erza Scarlet is assigned a murder case that spirals out of control. With the help of rookie detective Natsu Dragneel, Erza will risk everything to catch the serial killer, Jack the Ripper.
1. Meet Erza Scarlet

Detective Inspector Erza Scarlet brushed away a few loose strands of her distinctive red hair. She held her breath and slowly looked around the corner. Nothing. She exhaled softly and continued to creep through the empty docks. It was 2.21am, August 31st, 1888. The only sources of illumination were from faraway street lamps and intermittent flashes of moonlight, struggling to penetrate the gloomy London sky. Erza considered striking a match, to alleviate even for a few seconds the suffocating darkness, but she resisted the temptation, knowing that it could be the difference between success and failure in the operation. Hopefully her prey would be the first one to break.

Erza was currently on the tail of a notorious firebug, an arsonist that went by the alias of 'Salamander'. In recent months, the Salamander had crippled blocks of London's industrial districts with his pyromania, seemingly attacking random targets. As was the norm in the Metropolitan Police Service, the impossibly difficult case was eventually pawned off to her. She'd dearly like to believe that it was by compliment of her police work and deductive ability, but the truth was far more sinister. The fact was that—

CRASH

Erza snapped to attention, crouching low as barrels tumbled to the floor somewhere ahead of her. The sound of angry cursing floated through the night air, providing a homing beacon for Erza to move towards.

"Bloody barrels! Stupid slob dock workers…never clean up their mess…disgrace to society…"

Erza continued her slow creep through the winding maze of shipping paraphernalia, one hand firmly gripped around her trusty metal baton. She slowly, carefully, came to a stop, approximately 10 metres away from the muttering man, only able to make out the rough outline of him and their surroundings. He still hadn't noticed her presence, preoccupied with something else. She resisted the urge to tackle him from behind and make the arrest, this had to be done properly, no loose ends, no loopholes.

"…That should do it."

The man shuffled back, his hand diving into his pocket. Erza's heartbeat quickened, this was it. After a few seconds of fumbling, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thought I'd left it at home!"

With a scratch, the clearance flickered in an orange glow, the Salamander had lit a match. Erza jumped from her hiding place.

"Stop right there! I'm placing you under arrest for arson, mass arson, trespassing, and conspiracy to— Bora of Prominence!"

Erza broke off from her spiel as the man spun around in shock, revealing his distinctive tattooed face. His eyes were momentarily wide with fear, only retracting slightly as they swept over Erza, a coolness settling back in.

"Ahh, the intrepid female detective I've been reading so much about in the newspaper, what an honour." Bora sneered sarcastically. "I'll get straight to business…rumour has it you're unbribable."

"Rumours can be misleading." Erza replied unfathomably.

"Really? Well, I can certainly make it worth your while. Not that I need to tell you that, you already know who I am." Bora purred smoothly.

"Yes. You're Bora of Prominence, nobleman, businessman, and prime investor in the new port that will be built out of London. When I was deducing a motive for the fires there was obviously a financial reason for these attacks due to the targeting of the industrial districts. All the victims had one common link, their opposition to building the new docks. After the fires they had to refocus their interests on recovering their own money, leaving you with one final target, eliminating the old docks. I did think that maybe an investor was paying off the Salamander to do his dirty work, but to think that you would be directly responsible…"

A light smile played at Bora's lips as he soaked in Erza's accusation. "I just love getting my hands dirty."

"And it has been your undoing." Erza finished. "Incidentally, I'll be charging you with attempted bribery of a policeman as well."

Bora's expression twitched slightly in annoyance, but he remained calm.

"Get down on the ground and put your hands behind your back." Erza ordered, reaching for the handcuffs on her belt.

"I…don't think so." Bora mused, taking a step back.

"Oh? I assure you whether it is a fight or a footrace, I will come out on top." Erza threatened, taking a step forward.

"So I've heard." Bora took another step back. "Your reputation precedes you."

"You'll have to excuse me then, I'm afraid I don't understand what your intention is." Erza replied cautiously, fingers trailing away from the handcuffs and back around the baton.

Bora chuckled and raised his hand, the flickering flame clinging to what remained of the match stick.

"I think you're going to have your hands full with something else!"

With that, Bora tossed the match into the wood at his feet and sprinted in the opposite direction. Erza snorted, running over to stamp out the embers and take chase, before the flames exploded in size instantly, roaring to life. An unmistakeable stench filled the air.

"Oil." Erza muttered, understanding now what Bora had been fiddling with. Erza spun around furiously, trying to find something to kill the rapidly expanding blaze. She tore open barrel after barrel, finding nothing but more oil.

' _Wait! I'm at the docks!'_ Erza swore to herself as she emptied one of the barrels away from the fire and rushed over to the water's edge to fill it up, all the while enduring the fading patter of Bora's escape. As the water rushed in, Erza's fingers began to slip, her muscles strained against the growing weight of the barrel. Erza could feel the heat on the back of her neck, she was running out of time. Her calves groaned as she lifted the barrel out of the water, full to the brim. As she turned and started to slowly stagger back towards the fire, she saw things were about to go from bad to worse. The oil she had poured out of the barrel was slowly oozing along the ground towards the fire.

"Crapcrapcrapcrapcrap!"

Erza awkwardly tottered over as fast as she could, lifted the barrel with all her might, and emptied it onto the fire, just before it gained more fuel. Erza dropped the barrel and stamped out the last few remaining embers, wiping the sweat off her brow. She allowed herself a second to draw in a deep breath, before sprinting off after Bora.

She couldn't see or hear him, but that was alright, she already knew where he was going. Erza visualised the blueprints of the docks she'd studied, there was only one exit in this direction. Erza furrowed her brow, zooming out on the map in her mind. Why was he heading north though? Taking the west exit would have led him to the brand new park, there was enough kindling there to create the mother of all distractions. The only think north was the river.

Erza's stomach sank as she thought back to how calm Bora had been throughout the entire confrontation. He must have something planned…it didn't matter, she had beat officers stationed on the perimeter, he wouldn't get away.

Erza finally burst out of the dockyards, her legs burning from the sudden strength and cardio workout. She could only swear loudly again as her fears were confirmed, the clearing had nothing to show but two slouching policeman, casually talking to each other. They jumped as Erza stormed over to them, her eyes burning.

"Where did he go?" Erza hissed through her teeth.

The policeman looked at each other nervously.

"Er, who?"

"Bora of Prominence! The man that just ran out of the yard! The yard you are supposed to be watching!"

"W-we didn't see anyone! Maybe he doubled back or something…" The panicked officer suggested.

"Maybe he did…"

They both breathed a sigh of relief as Erza closed her eyes, shoulders slumping in defeat.

"OR MAYBE—"

Erza lunged forward, grabbing both of them by the necks of their coats, and hoisted them up into the air. Gold coins spilled out of their pockets and onto the ground, the awkward clinking drowning out any protest they had before it began.

"Pretty wealthy for a couple of beat officers, aren't we? Do you always carry around a month's salary on patrol?"

"W-well it's just that—"

"Shut up! You have three seconds before I smear you across the pavement. Where did he go?"

"THAT WAY!" They yelled out simultaneously, pointing north.

Erza immediately dropped them and took off again, shaking her head in disbelief. Not disbelief that they'd been bribed so easily, but disbelief that the Salamander was still heading north, right into the Thames. She bolted down the winding alleyway, jumping over crates that had been clearly pushed into her path, fearing what she'd see when she got to the other side. She could not let this guy leave London, she could not let this guy leave her jurisdiction.

A cool breeze washed over her as the alleyway opened up to the gigantic river that ran through the city. She skidded to a stop at the edge, eyes quickly scanning the vast mass of water running in front of her. Sure enough, the outline of a boat slowly gliding across the river was visible against the churning mass of darkness. As Erza's eyes adjusted, she made out two silhouettes, a large man rowing the boat, and a lean, familiar, robed figure lying back, resting.

Erza let out a sigh, taking a few steps back away from the water. Any reasonable officer would give up such a hazardous chase. Any reasonable officer would find a telegraph and send a message to headquarters. Any reasonable officer would—

SPLASH

The blood in Erza's veins turned to ice, the debilitating drop in temperature sent shockwaves through every corner of her body. She floundered underwater, frozen tendrils ensnaring her limbs, threatening to drag her down into the depths. No reasonable policeman, let alone a detective inspector, would find themselves swimming across the Thames at 2.30am, but Erza Scarlet was not reasonable. That is to say, she wasn't allowed to be reasonable. Any failed case could be her last, the Chief Inspector had made it abundantly clear to her his opinion on females in the police force.

On cue, the Chief Inspector's arrogant, taunting, face, swam in Erza's vision.

" _Typical weakness from the inferior gender. Not fit for police work. I can finally transfer you the hell out of my division."_

Erza's body jerked into motion. She kicked furiously, breaking the cold shackles that bound her. Erza smashed through the surface of the river, sucked in a deep lungful of air, and began ploughing through the water after the boat.

 **OoOoO**

She didn't know how long she'd been swimming for, neither the boat nor the opposite river bank seemed to be getting any closer. Completely alone with her thoughts and fears, Erza drove forward. Legs burning. Shoulders burning. Lungs burning. Erza was by no means out of shape, in fact she was one of the most physically fit officers in the MPS. It was one of those unreasonable measures that she lived by, she would not give her superiors any chance to dismiss her on any grounds. Whether it was fitness, paper work, patrols, public relations, or investigations, Erza strove to perform above and beyond what was expected of the average officer.

Having said that, she was at her limit. She'd felt her energy dip a while ago, what she was moving on now was willpower, borrowed time. Erza gasped, and consequently spat a mouthful of water out. Unsure if it was a hallucination, the blurred outline of her target jumped out of his boat and started running.

' _Land!'_

Erza's body reacted instantly, kicking harder than before. The searing pain numbing into the background as any thoughts of failure, redundancy, or humiliation, were skewered by her renewed, steely, resolve.

' _I will catch the Salamander! I will successfully complete this case! I will continue to work as a detective!'_

Erza's shivering hands rose out of the water and clamped onto the jetty. In one swift motion she heaved herself completely out of the water, landed on her toes, and sprinted forward, just catching sight of the fleeing robes of the Salamander disappearing into the suburbs.

"Stop right the—"

Bora's large accomplice attempted to block her path, arms stretched wide. Erza didn't break stride, jumping and striking him across the face with her elbow. Before his body had hit the ground she was racing up the embankment, four steps at a time.

She didn't know whether it was the cold or the exhaustion, but she couldn't feel her feet on the cobblestone pavement. She couldn't feel anything. Her hands fumbled with the rope around her neck, pulling out the regulation whistle from under her drenched uniform. She was close enough, she could whistle for nearby officers, reinforcements. She would catch the Salamander, close the case… Erza's lips hovered around the mouth of the whistle for a few seconds, before tucking it back under her uniform and continuing on.

She couldn't do it. She couldn't lower herself to asking for help. She would prove to everyone that she was the best. Erza was broken from her inner turmoil as the running shadow of her target became more defined against the yellow glow at the end of the alleyway. Erza ducked her head, putting everything she had into catching up as fast as possible. The light rushed forward to meet her, she could smell beer and smoke and—

THWACK

Erza was on her back, staring up at the night sky. She felt a trickle of blood run out of her nose and across her cheek. A plank of wood was dropped onto the ground next to her head, the sound barely registering against the high pitched buzzing echoing around her skull. The Salamander moved into view, stepping over her with a pleased, albeit panting, smirk. His mouth moved but no sound came out. Whatever he'd said had clearly been rhetorical, as he threw his head back and laughed.

Erza began to struggle to her feet, but Bora stomped down on her stomach, pinning her to the ground. Erza felt the oxygen rush out of her body, she struggled to breathe and the world began to fade to black.

"Not yet."

Erza could hear again as Bora lifted his leg, appearing back into vision as the pressure was released, only to then stamp down even harder. Erza couldn't hold it in anymore and gasped in pain, hands scratching at Bora's ankles, trying to push his foot up. Bora thrashed his leg away from her clawing hands and stomped down on her stomach again and again.

"Filthy. Peasant. Scu—"

Erza rolled to the side, dodging Bora's foot as it came slamming down on to the pavement. Bora hissed in pain as the sickening crunch of his ankle sounded around the clearing.

Erza's body acted on instinct, muscle memory, as she flipped out of the roll and into a defensive stance, fists raised in front of her face. She was vaguely aware of her surroundings now, details filtering in out of the corners of her eyes. Drunks and prostitutes watched on in interest, their evening of debauchery topped off with the beat down of a policeman. Erza sensed them jeering, hissing, but didn't take her eyes off Bora for a second. He too was eyeing her wearily, gingerly shifting his weight onto his other ankle. Suddenly his eyes flickered to the closest exit, then to his ankle, and then back to Erza, the gears turning in his head as he considered his options. Erza sucked in the oxygen as best she could in these precious seconds, although her body was rejecting it violently.

Bora's eyes suddenly hardened, gifting Erza a fraction of a second in warning. He lunged, fist clumsily swinging towards her head. Erza ducked in and under the loose punch, delivering a deep left jab to Bora's stomach, and then following up with an almighty right hook to the side of the face as he stumbled back. The second blow floored Bora, he wobbled, tripped, but ultimately kept his feet as he scrambled to recover.

Bora's wavering figure doubled and tripled, a creeping black haze spreading out from the corners of Erza's vision. _'How is he doing that?'_ Erza wondered dreamily, her slipping mind in direct contrast to the fighting figure she was outwardly portraying.

Bora's nerve finally failed, she had discovered his plans despite his misdirection, she had caught up with his escape despite the head start, and she was winning the fight despite him landing the first hit. Bora took one last look at the detective, his face contorted in a mixture of fury and disgust, and limped away as fast as he could. Erza went to chase after him, but suddenly the ground was rushing up to meet her and she found herself on the pavement again, watching Bora disappear. Her legs had finally given up. Erza punched the cobblestones in frustration, voices echoing around her head.

 _Not good enough_

 _Not good enough_

 _Not good enough_

Erza shifted uncomfortably, something hard was pressing against her chest. Her fingers snaked around the offending metal lump.

' _The whistle!'_

Erza ripped the whistle out from under her uniform, summoned every ounce of life she had left, and blew into it.

The screech of the whistle reverberated through the night air, its shrill echo pounding against Erza's ears. After a few seconds the sound faded and Erza spat the whistle out, completely out of breath. She couldn't see where Bora was. She couldn't see anything. The world was swimming. Hands were grabbing at her, pulling her hair, tugging at her uniform. Cackling faces materialised in and out of view, the strong stench of liquor dominating her senses.

Erza mumbled in distress, attempting to bat the tearing hands away from her, and then…there was nothing.

 **OoOoO**

Erza opened her eyes. She was sitting on the ground, propped up against a wall. _'How long have I been out?'_

She groaned as her head started to throb, Bora had swung that plank of wood as hard as he could.

' _Bora!'_

Erza looked around wildly, only to do a double take as she found his unconscious body sitting right next to her.

"H-how? Who?" Erza couldn't believe her eyes.

"Tch. You're awake".

Erza snapped to face the voice, a new man emerging out of the darkness. Long black hair spiked out in all directions, his scowling face punctuated with metal piercings. His aura was terrifying, but Erza breathed a sigh of relief when her eyes travelled down his body, he was in a police uniform.

"Was about to wake you." The man grunted, holding up the wooden bucket he was carrying, a small splash of water escaping over the rim.

Erza swallowed slowly, not sure where to begin, her mind still catching up to the situation. "Did…you…catch…this…man?"

"Yeah."

Erza raised an eyebrow, waiting for additional information, but after a few seconds it became apparent that none was forthcoming.

"How…did you…catch him? Were you…nearby?"

The policeman blinked slowly. "Watched your fight. When you blew the whistle I walked over and clubbed him. He didn't get very far."

Erza frowned in confusion. "What do you mean…you watched my fight? Why didn't you help?"

The man shrugged. "You were doing fine on your own."

Erza massaged the bridge of her nose in frustration, her mind finally clearing.

"Name and rank?"

A shadow momentarily passed over the man's face, Erza's hawkish brown eyes didn't miss his jaw clench ever so slightly.

"Gajeel Redfox, Constable."

Erza nodded, "I'm Detective Inspector Erza—"

"I know who you are." Gajeel cut across coldly.

Erza held his gaze calmly. _'They're all the same. They don't even see me as an equal, let alone their superior officer.'_

Erza struggled to her feet, leaning heavily on the wall for support.

"Constable Redfox, detain this man in the nearest holding cells, I'll send through the paperwork later today. I'm going back to headquarters."

Erza would usually take great pride, and a little self-satisfaction, in marching her captive to his cell. But right now, _'I just need some sleep.'_

Gajeel inclined his head in acknowledgement. He picked Bora up and threw him over his shoulder, carrying him with all the grace of a sack of potatoes.

"One more thing!" Erza barked.

Gajeel turned slowly to face her.

"…Where am I?"

For the first time, Gajeel cracked a smile. Erza wasn't sure it was an improvement to his usual expression, he resembled a hyena, grinning in front of his prey.

"Gihihihi. Welcome to Whitechapel. Come back any time."

Erza turned on her heel and paced away, looking for a cart back to Scotland Yard.

' _Like hell I'd ever come back to this dump!'_

* * *

 **Thanks for reading guys, I hope you enjoyed it. Feedback is appreciated :) See you next time!**


	2. Meet Natsu Dragneel

**Thanks for the kind words of those that reviewed, I appreciate them so much!**

* * *

Erza burst through the front doors of the Metropolitan Police Service headquarters, late. The moment that she'd collapsed into bed, it had been time to get up. She'd had a real fright when she looked in the mirror and discovered she was covered in her own blood, the stares of onlookers on her way home making a little more sense in hindsight. After washing it all off, eating breakfast, throwing up breakfast, and dragging her weary legs out of her apartment, she'd fallen behind schedule and was now dreading her meeting with the Chief Inspector. Erza didn't even make it to the safety of her desk before one of her co-workers, Alzack Connell, intercepted her.

"Scarlet, boss wants to see you."

Erza sighed and trudged away from the bullpen and towards the huge austere doors of the Chief Inspector's office. She raised her hand to knock but a harsh voice from inside beat her to it.

"Enter."

Erza straightened her shoulders, lifted her chin, brushed the hair out of her eyes, and strode inside. She stopped in front of the large wooden desk and stood to attention.

"You wanted to see me, Sir?"

The Chief Inspector didn't react immediately. He continued to lean back in his chair, his fingers stroking the fur coat draped over his shoulders. His blue eyes slowly scanned the room, passing over Erza without making contact. Erza continued to stand to attention, staring intently in his direction, stubbornly refusing to budge.

Chief Inspector Laxus Dreyar was a dangerous man, aggressive, dogged, and intelligent, a very scary mixture of qualities. He was physically intimidating as well, his bulky muscular frame developed over years of amateur rugby. She'd heard stories about what he'd done to a poor constable who asked about the jagged lightning bolt scar that ran down over his right eye, there was no doubt he knew how to put those muscles to good use.

The silence continued to stretch, Laxus was playing one of his favourite games, 'pretend Erza doesn't exist'. Erza didn't make a sound, doing her best to play one of her least favourite games, 'don't give Laxus the satisfaction of letting it get to you'. Finally, Laxus leaned forward and rifled through his paperwork.

"Scarlet!"

"Sir?"

"I've got a message from a station in the East End that you have a suspect in the Salamander case detained there."

"Yes Sir."

"Where is your report?"

"I haven't written it yet."

"Hmm." Laxus tutted under his breath and flicked through some more papers. Erza didn't bite. She was way too tired to get into another yelling match with the Chief Inspector.

"It says here you've arrested Bora of Prominence, are you absolutely sure you want to proceed with this? He has some powerful allies, your head will be on the line."

Erza didn't blink. "The law will prosecute the guilty, I have faith in the process."

"It's not the process I'm worried about, it's your detective work." Laxus didn't bother looking up.

Erza's eyes narrowed but she kept calm. "When you allow me to return to my desk I'll be able to write up the report and you can judge my detective work for yourself."

"Mhmm."

They were back to silence as Laxus continued leafing through papers.

"Is that all, Sir?"

"No, there was one other thing."

A muscle above Erza's eye twitched as Laxus declined to immediately elaborate.

"Oh, here we are." Laxus pulled out a sheet of paper and pushed it across the desk. "You're to be assigned a junior detective out of the academy."

"WHAT!?"

Laxus didn't bother hiding his smirk, having finally gotten a reaction out of Erza. "You're to be assigned a junior detective—"

"I heard what you said! I've specifically stated that I'm not interested in taking on a—"

"I don't care what you've specifically stated. We have a class of graduates that need to be integrated into the police force, and I think that someone with such an outstanding record like yourself would be an excellent role model."

Erza bit back a retort, she really didn't have a leg to stand on here. She hated working with others, but what could she argue? That she didn't have an outstanding record? Erza glanced down at the list of names, various attributes graded across the page, their graduating marks.

"Fine." Erza spat finally, all pretence of coolness abandoned. "I'll take…Gray Fullbuster."

Laxus sneered derisively. "You thought you'd walk in here late and take the top of the class for yourself?"

Erza grimaced. Fullbuster was the one name on the sheet she'd recognised, there were plenty of rumours about the super rookie that had aced the academy.

"Okay then…" Erza scanned through the list again. "Max Alors."

"Taken."

"Warren Rocko."

"Taken."

"Reedus Jonah!"

"Taken."

Erza scanned further down the list, growing increasingly frustrated by the low scores she might be taking on.

"Nab Losaro!"

"…Taken."

Erza felt like pulling her hair out. "Who on this list is not taken then?"

Laxus' smirk widened. "Natsu Dragneel."

Erza's brow furrowed, she didn't remember reading that name. "I can't find him."

"Check the back."

Erza groaned as she turned the page over and saw the one name listed there. 'D in deduction, F in interrogation, F in case reports, C in teamwork, D in investigation, A in fitness…great, I've got a complete blockhead!'

"You're giving me the bottom of the class?" Erza hissed. "How did this guy even pass the academy with these grades?"

Laxus shrugged. "Superintendent took a liking to the kid, said grades aren't everything."

Erza scowled, the fact that this kid, this 'Natsu', was going to be a policeman, let alone a detective, cheapened the position for the rest of them. It cheapened it for her.

"I would think it goes without saying…" Laxus cut across Erza's internal ranting, "...such a special recruit needs a special detective to partner with them. I'll be monitoring Natsu's progress carefully to make sure you're…ah…nurturing his boundless potential."

Erza's knuckles whitened as her grip on the paper started to tear it.

"And, naturally, I'll be monitoring your work closely as well. It would be such a shame to lose our first female detective because she couldn't keep up with the normal responsibilities of a policeman."

It took all of Erza's mental discipline to swallow the hundreds of obscenities she dearly wanted to throw at Laxus.

"Don't worry, I would never let you down", Erza replied icily, "the first Chief Inspector in history to have a female detective in his division." This was the one piece of ammunition she had, the fact that her continued employment was a constant embarrassment to him.

Sparks flew behind Laxus' eyes, but he returned to his paperwork and didn't look at her again. "Junior Detective Dragneel is waiting for you at your desk. Dismissed."

OoOoO

Pink. His hair was pink. Erza had tentatively walked back to her desk, imagining the mouth-breathing grunt that awaited her. Pink hair was the absolute last thing she'd been expecting. 'Kids these days…'

Erza didn't approach him right away, instead, she stopped and observed him waiting for her from a distance. Spiky pink hair, tanned skin, dark eyes, sharp teeth, 'he's way too distinctive for undercover work', Erza thought bitterly. Natsu was leaning back in his chair casually, smiling widely like he didn't have a care in the world. 'Unprofessional, oblivious, unlikely to notice clues at a crime scene'.

Erza shook her head and walked over to the desk, approaching Natsu from behind. She sat down carefully next to him, waiting, hoping, he would notice her presence. Much to her disappointment, he didn't.

"Ahem." Erza coughed, finally.

Natsu jumped.

"Oh! I didn't see you there! I thought I smelled something different..."

Erza raised an eyebrow.

"Not like that! I mean— I'm really good with scents and—"

"I'm Detective Inspector Erza Scarlet. Justice is not a frivolous thing and I expect your attitude to reflect that. Wipe that gormless look off your face and introduce yourself."

Natsu gulped nervously and scratched the back of his head.

"Uh, I'm Natsu, I like—"

"Wrong! You're a representative of the law now, a barrier between the people and the state. How you conduct yourself, and how you introduce yourself, are vital to the strength of that barrier!"

"Oh! Okay…I'm Junior Detective Natsu, I like—"

"Dragneel. Junior Detective Natsu Dragneel."

"Sorry! I'm Junior Detective Natsu Dragneel, I like—"

"Okay, that's enough of that." Erza cut across swiftly. "This isn't a social club. We're here to solve crimes and bring the perpetrators to justice. To do that with maximum efficiency, I expect you to follow every single one of my commands without question, do you understand me?"

"Yes!" Natsu squeaked, his back straightening slightly.

"Good. Now sit quietly while I write up my report for the Chief."

Erza began the monotonous task of detailing her ordeal with the Salamander, but found it difficult to concentrate. True to his word, Natsu was sitting quietly, but he was constantly fidgeting, unable to sit still for longer than a few seconds. To her even greater annoyance, he also kept craning his neck to read what she was writing.

"Dragneel!"

"Y-yeah?"

"Stop moving."

"But I'm bored!"

'What is this child!?' Erza thought in bewilderment, her incredulous stare going completely unnoticed by a pouting Natsu.

"Your boredom is none of my concern." Erza began lecturing. "We're detectives with the Metropolitan Police Service. We see our work through right until the end, no matter how tiring or difficult or—"

"Scarlet." Alzack reappeared at Erza's desk. "Chief says you're off the Salamander case, it's being reassigned to a different detective."

Erza's pen exploded in her fist, ink saturating the papers on her desk.

"Why?" She hissed venomously.

Alzack shrugged his shoulders, unfazed by Erza's dangerous temper. His half-open eyes stared dully from behind his long black hair. "He said something about it being too difficult for you."

Erza went to stand but Alzack calmly put his hand on her shoulder and forced her back down into her chair.

"Don't. Just don't. Be thankful that you're still working on cases. Laxus has had me running errands and organising rosters ever since that incident with my wife at the staff party. Eventually, more women will join the workforce and he'll be forced to change with the times, keep your head down until then."

Erza nodded slowly, Alzack's words cooling her down. He straightened up, dropped a folder on her desk, and walked away.

"Your new case, chosen personally by the Chief...Sorry in advance."

Erza opened the folder tentatively, Natsu trying to catch a glimpse from over her shoulder. There were two letters inside.

Chief Inspector Dreyar,

A body was discovered on Buck's Row in the early hours of this morning by a passing cart driver. From what we understand she was just a local prostitute, not an uncommon occurrence, but due to the particularly gruesome state of her corpse I believe it's better if we hand this over to Scotland Yard. We have the doctor's report, and the officers that were first on the scene, waiting at our station in Whitechapel.

-Constable Edwards

Erza groaned, the mere mention of Whitechapel causing her head to throb. She shuffled the pages and began reading the second note.

Scarlet,

I'm assigning you to this extremely important case! Leave no stone unturned, no bystander unchecked, no house unsearched! Why, the notorious Salamander is NOTHING compared to the death of this random prostitute!

When I was thinking about which of my trusted detectives to give this vital case to, your face kept appearing in my mind every time I read the words, 'prostitute', 'corpse', and 'gruesome'. It was uncanny! And since you seemed to have so much fun staying up late in Whitechapel last night, well, it's a perfect fit.

I hope to see some immediate progress in this great prostitute mystery!

-Chief Inspector Dreyar

Erza snapped the extremely sarcastic file closed and set it away from Natsu. 'He doesn't need to get caught up in this', she thought with a mix of sadness and jealousy. This kid would have it all so easy, made a detective with abysmal grades, clearly no ambition to move up the ranks, he'd probably avoid Laxus' wrath due to his laidback attitude. She had no business ruining an easy life for him.

"Where are we going?" Natsu asked innocently.

Erza sighed deeply, her headache intensifying.

"Whitechapel."

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 **Thanks for reading!**


	3. Meet The First Case

**As you can imagine with a story about a serial killer, the theme can be a little dark. I'll never go out of my way to be gruesome or graphic, this is just a warning for those thinking this will be a comedy.**

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"I can't believe I'm already on an investigation! The Academy told us we'd have to do boring constable stuff first! Ice Freak is gunna be so jealous when he finds—"

"Natsu!" Erza cut across Natsu's cheery babbling.

"Yeah?"

"Remember when I said 'justice isn't frivolous'?"

"Yeah."

"Well?"

Natsu scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I don't know what frivolous means."

Erza rolled her eyes. "It means you have to be serious! And it can start with your hair! I want that ridiculous pink dye washed out by tomorrow!" She scolded.

"But it's not—"

The pair strode through the front doors of Whitechapel Police Station, Erza leading boldly, Natsu on her heels grinning eagerly. A frail old man greeted them as they reached the front desk.

"Can I help you kids?" His eyes slowly scanned from Erza, down to Natsu.

Erza coughed. "We're detectives from the MPS, here to see Constable Edwards about the Buck's Row murder."

"Really?" His eyes hovered on Natsu's hair for a moment. "Well I'm Constable Edwards…right this way."

Somewhat hesitantly, the constable led them into a small room in the back of the station. A large table dominated the space, covered in photos. A policeman was sitting in the corner shaking slightly; he jumped up as Erza entered.

"First on the scene?" Erza asked sharply.

"Yes…ma'am." The policeman moved under the light in the centre of the room and Erza immediately softened her tone. He was as white as a ghost, his skin punctuating the dark rings under his eyes.

"Tell me what happened…please."

The policeman swallowed nervously and began reciting the words that must have been racing around his head all morning.

"I was on my usual beat through Whitechapel, started about 3am…nothing to report to begin with, I even walked down Buck's Row about 3.15 and didn't notice anything. Apparently there was some commotion river-side, a brawl between an officer and a delinquent, but that area isn't part of my route."

"Er, yes, never mind about that, it's unrelated." Erza muttered quickly.

The policeman nodded and continued. "It got to about 3.40, I was stationed outside a hospital when two men ran up to me and told me they'd found a body of a woman in Buck's Row."

"Did you get their names?" Erza inquired, pulling out a notepad and beginning to write.

"Yes, a Mr. Cross and a Mr. Paul, both cart drivers. I believe it was Mr. Cross that found her first."

"And did they say anything of note?" Erza asked, scribbling away.

The policeman swallowed again and continued, his voice slightly hoarser. "Not much. Mr. Cross believed she was dead, Mr. Paul disagreed, said he couldn't see much blood. Apparently her skirt was…raised, originally, but they had pulled it back down over her…"

"Right". Erza cut across, saving him from finishing his sentence. "So then you went to inspect the body?"

"Yes ma'am. Her throat had been slit and there several stab wounds across her middle section…the doctor's report is on the table if you want more details…" The policeman trailed off with a whisper.

Erza nodded silently, her pencil a blur with movement. When she'd caught up she opened her mouth to speak, but Natsu jumped in before her.

"You're doing well, officer!"

The policeman snapped out of his trance, blinking blearily, noticing Natsu for the first time. A small smile forced itself onto his face as he nodded slightly.

' _How is it even possible to smile that wide?'_ Erza shook her head, observing the cheerful grin Natsu was returning.

"Yes. Anyway. Then what happened?"

"I signalled with my lantern for assistance, and another officer turned up. He went to fetch a doctor. I stayed with the body and moved along on-lookers. At about 4.00 the doctor arrived and..."

"He declared her dead." Erza finished. The policeman nodded helplessly.

"I'm sorry…I've seen a lot of things…and I know it's not the first time…but…" He was stuttering uncontrollably now, looking like he was on the verge of breaking down.

"It's alright, we'll take it from here!" Natsu interjected again, jumping forward and punching the officer lightly on the shoulder. Once again, he seemed to snap out of a downward spiral, and smiled weakly.

"Thank you for your help." Erza added, punctuating her notes and stepping away from the door. "That'll be all, gentleman."

The two Whitechapel policeman left eagerly, leaving Erza and Natsu alone, the room itself seemingly giving off an eerily dark vibe.

Oblivious to the grim nature of their case, Natsu bounded forward and grabbed the crime scene photos, but Erza swooped in and snatched them out of his hands.

"Hey!"

Erza held them above her head, just out of reach from a jumping Natsu.

"Before we begin, really begin, I have to know—"

Erza used her other hand to grab Natsu and force him to stand still for a moment.

"—are you ready for this?"

Natsu went to open his mouth but Erza pre-empted him.

"I mean really ready. I don't have time to give you the rookie treatment. There are things you're going to see that—"

"Erza." Natsu looked her square in the eye. "I can handle it."

Erza's mouth tightened. She was torn. This kid would only drag her down, she'd get a lot more work done and save both their careers if he was out of the way. On the other hand, this was going to be a slog of an investigation, prostitutes had few known contacts, and even fewer that would come forward to help. Dealing in love and money, several clients a night, add in some alcohol, and you had a vast amount of suspects, motives, and doors to knock on.

"Fine. Don't smudge them." Erza handed the photos over to an instantly jubilant Natsu. She instead started reading the doctor's report.

 _Arrived at the scene at approximately 4am. Extremities still warm. She can't have been deceased longer than 30 minutes._

 _Five teeth missing, slight laceration of the tongue. Bruise running along the lower part of the jaw on the right side of the face. Circular bruise on the left side of the face._

 _On the left side of the neck, about 1 inch below the jaw, there is an incision about 4 inches in length, running from a point immediately below the ear. This incision completely severed all the tissues down to the vertebrae. The large vessels of the neck on both sides were severed. The incision was about 8 inches in length._

 _Moving down, there are no injuries on the body until the lower part of the abdomen. Two or three inches from the left side is a wound running in a jagged manner. The wound is a very deep one, and the tissues are cut through. There are several incisions running across the abdomen. There are three or four similar cuts running downwards, on the right side. It is my belief that all the injuries have been caused by the same instrument._

 _-Dr Rees Llewellyn_

Erza put the report down and inspected a diagram that the doctor had drawn, illustrating the location of the incisions. She wasn't looking forward to seeing the actual photos. As if on cue, Natsu dropped the photos back on the table and sighed deeply, still, unbelievably, smiling.

"Something amusing about the case, Dragneel?" Erza asked coldly.

Natsu didn't respond immediately, his eyes staring off into the distance.

"Yeah. I'm really looking forward to beating this guy up!"

Erza was so taken aback with the response that she found herself smiling, although she quickly reverted to her normal stony expression when Natsu looked at her.

"We don't beat people up, we just arrest them." Erza explained, deliberately ignoring the hypocrisy of her words.

"Not even a little?" Natsu asked innocently.

Erza fought down another urge to smile. "Well…I can't be keeping an eye on you every second we have him in custody…"

"YES! I'm all fired up!" Natsu punched the air.

"Don't get too excited, we still have to catch him first." Erza quickly reminded him.

The pair exchanged documents, although Erza noticed that Natsu barely looked at the doctor's report, instead spending more time examining the diagram. _'Laziness? Or maybe he already ascertained her injuries from the photos?'_

Erza looked at the photos for herself and was immediately surprised by the lack of blood. _'Was she killed elsewhere then moved? All those wounds…'_

Erza put the photos down and picked up a half-finished report from one of the Whitechapel detectives.

 _Victim identified as a prostitute by an onlooker at the scene, verified later by an embarrassed constable who would prefer to remain anonymous. Name, age, address, unknown. Appears to be in her mid-30s, shabbily dressed, clothing labelled 'Lambeth Workhouse'._

Erza looked back across at Natsu, still frowning at the diagram. _'At least we have a lead.'_

"Dragneel. Collect all the paperwork, we're heading out."

"Where are we going?" Natsu asked, scrabbling the papers together without looking.

"The scene of the crime."

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 **Thanks for reading, reviews always appreciated.**


	4. Meet Mirajane Strauss

Erza massaged her brow in frustration, the pavement of Buck's Row had already been cleaned.

"I can't believe they tampered with the crime scene." Erza groaned.

Natsu laughed nervously. "You can't expect them to leave blood where people are walking, it's a work day!"

Erza looked up at the sun, sitting high in the sky. They needed to move fast to stop the trail going cold, every hour that passed meant witness statements became harder to find and less reliable.

"What's more important? Catching a murderer or getting a bit of blood on your shoes?" Erza turned around and glared at Natsu.

"I'm with you!" Natsu quickly reassured her, but Erza had already moved on, crouching down and examining the bricks up close.

"I was hoping for a trail. There's a chance she was killed elsewhere and dragged to this spot." Erza scanned the surrounding road carefully.

"Due to the lack of blood at the crime scene?"

Erza hummed in confirmation, her face inches off the ground as she inspected the pavement.

"If you're looking for more blood, there isn't any, I already checked. Can't smell any either." Natsu informed her nonchalantly.

"Oh, we'll have to move on then. I'll— wait, what?" Erza got to her feet and dusted herself off. "What do you mean you've already checked? We just got here."

"Hm?" Natsu had been staring vacantly into the distance. A muscle above Erza's eye twitched.

"I said, what do you mean you've already checked? And what do you mean you can't smell any blood?"

"Uh, what do you mean 'what do you mean'? I already checked the whole street when we walked here, and I couldn't smell any blood." Natsu frowned, confused by Erza's questioning.

Erza stared at Natsu for a few seconds before shaking her head. "Don't be silly, you can't just casually see and smell miniscule droplets of blood. Ok, I'm going to interview the residents from the closest apartments. You go over to that factory nearby, one of the local detectives said that a few workers were among the on-lookers when the body was discovered. Meet back here in 30 minutes."

"Alright!" Natsu held up his fist.

"What on Earth are you doing now?" Erza sighed.

"We're a team, right? Let's bump fists before we split up, or when we discover something important!"

Erza looked at his fist disdainfully.

"I'm going to pass. See you."

"OK! Next time then!" Natsu called out after her as she crossed the street and entered the apartment building. Erza rolled her eyes, _'I'm babysitting! My partner is a child!'_

 **OoOoO**

"Report!"

Natsu dropped some of his notes as he tried sorting through the mess of papers he was holding.

"Err, nothing special. Workers didn't see or hear anything unusual in the hours leading up to the murder, they only came out when they overheard Mr. Cross talking to the policeman. The foreman did say that some of his workers would have arrived via Buck's Row at about 3am and they didn't report anything."

"But at 4.00 the doctor said she'd been dead no longer than 30 minutes, so that doesn't help at all." Erza replied sharply.

"Y-yeah, I know, I'm just saying what—"

"Anyway." Erza cut across swiftly. "The local residents didn't see or hear anything out of the ordinary last night either.

"So you think she was murdered elsewhere and dragged here?"

Erza mulled the statement over for a few seconds before half-heartedly shaking her head. "I'm not entirely sure…but if I had to guess, I'd say no…she was killed at the scene. She was found in the darkest part of the alleyway, given her profession I'd say she went there willingly with the murderer. And from a logical standpoint, it wouldn't make any sense to kill her elsewhere then risk being seen dragging the body to somewhere darker."

"Wouldn't someone have heard something?" Natsu asked.

Erza shook her head, a little more assured now. "Not necessarily. Judging from her injuries, I'd say she was strangled, therefore unable to cry for help. The bruising on her face and jaw, the missing teeth, I'd say she was assaulted and then quickly suffocated.

"But all the stab wounds? She was ripped to shreds! There should have been a lot more blood!" Natsu argued.

"Don't be distracted by how gruesome the corpse was. If she was dead before he stabbed her then her heart would have stopped, meaning…?"

Natsu stared at Erza blankly.

"Meaning, that the heart wouldn't be pumping the blood out at the rate we'd expect."

Natsu nodded, pretending to understand. "So why stab her then?"

Erza's already stony expression hardened further. "Another question we'll have to ask when we catch him. Perhaps some misplaced aggression against women, or maybe something more personal between the two of them. Hopefully Lambeth Workhouse will have the answers we're looking for."

"Is that where we're going now?" Natsu asked, hurrying to catch up to Erza as she turned and strode off without warning.

"Yes, with a small detour along the way. I'm going to check in at Fairy Tail."

 **OoOoO**

"What's this dump?"

Natsu wrinkled his nose as they approached a run down, old, building.

"This is Fairy Tail, Dragneel, a bar. I have contacts here that are often a valuable source of information."

Erza put her hand on the door but then paused. She slowly turned to face Natsu.

"It's good for police officers to build a network of contacts. You'll gain information faster- you should be writing this down."

"Oh! Sorry! Yeah…" Natsu fumbled with his papers again, dropping most of them in his haste to find one to write on.

"Nevermind" Erza sighed, as Natsu finally produced a blank paper, but realised he'd lost his pencil.

Erza pushed open the wide doors and led Natsu inside, the unmistakeable stench of alcohol already making her queasy. It was dark and mostly empty, save for two women at the bar.

"Business is booming, I see" Erza quipped sarcastically.

The lady behind the bar puffed her cheeks in faux-annoyance, before returning to a glittering smile. Long silvery-white hair cascaded down her back, completely at odds with her dingy surroundings.

"Come on, Erza, it's the middle of the afternoon. We don't get busy for another few hours."

Erza sniffed haughtily. "Hasn't stopped this drunk." She kicked the stool of the second woman, a brunette with her face down on the bar, but her hand still tightly wrapped around a half-empty mug of ale. "And it's still 'Detective Inspector Scarlet', to both of you."

"Leave me alone" the brunette slurred, not bothering to look at her assailant.

"Pathetic." Erza shook her head in disappointment.

"I take it you didn't come all the way here to insult my clientele", the barmaid interrupted sweetly.

Erza's glare lingered on the drunk lady for a moment before defaulting to her frosty look for the barmaid.

"A prostitute was murdered this morning."

The barmaid's smile faltered to a look of confusion. "Er…not the most unusual of occurrences, is it?"

Erza sighed wearily. "I don't choose the cases, Mira, I just work them. This was particularly gruesome though, the killer looked like he had a real grudge. I'm about to head over to the victim's workplace for some more information, but I wanted to know if you'd seen or heard anything last night. Anyone seem particularly violent to you. Anyone that you think might have a history of abusing women."

Mira thought for a moment before writing something on a scrap of paper.

"Nothing obvious comes to mind, but you might want to try this gentleman. He had a lot to drink last night and was quite…boisterous. He ended up running out on the tab, the murder might have been him…er…running out on the victim."

"You're not trying to get me to follow up on your dirty work, are you Mira?" a small smile tugging at Erza lips as she took the piece of paper.

"And who's this little cutie?" Mira fawned, changing the subject instantly. She ruffled Natsu's hair, to which Natsu could only stutter and blush.

"Junior Detective Dragneel," Erza cut in, "this is Mirajane Strauss." Erza motioned to the smiling barmaid. "And this is Cana Alberona." Erza kicked the stool again, receiving only a grunt in reply. "They often provide useful intelligence, today notwithstanding."

"Hey!"

"And what do you give them?" Natsu asked.

Erza smiled. "I make sure to regularly visit Fairy Tail. In uniform."

"Bar fights are down 33%" Mira added with a wink when Natsu still looked confused.

"Come along, Dragneel." Erza turned on her heel. "We're still racing against the clock here. We need to visit Lambeth Workhouse and find out who our victim is, and what company she's been keeping."

"Don't forget to look into my suspect! I definitely think he could be the murderer!" Mira called out as the doors to Fairy Tail closed behind them.

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 **AN: Thank you for the kind reviews, they are always greatly appreciated and incredibly inspiring. See you next time!**


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